Weekend Travels

Good Tuesday Morning blogger world!

Well, quite a bit has happened since the 11th so I guess I'll try and go in order...

On Wednesday and Thursday I was a mad-woman trying to clean every nook and cranny in the RV before my in-loves arrived (we are in-laws by certificate, in-loves by choice!). I scrubbed every possible surface I could find, all the surfaces that were un-findable, and even some non-existent surfaces! They arrived at 8:30pm here on the west coast and they were tired! Their bodies felt like it was 11:30pm, so I don't blame them! We had a happy reunion in the airport terminal and discussed things that were hilarious... i.e. the "terrorist" that was setting next to my mom-in-love, Brenda. She said there was some man sitting next to her looking nervous and hastily typing on his computer and such. She also noted that he didn't put his cell phone away when the flight crew asked them to... Brenda seemed pretty convinced that he was going to blow himself up right there but she was unsure as to how to raise an alarm without tipping him off... instead she sat there praying that nothing would happen and they would land safely.

The next morning, Matt, my dad-in-love, wanted to take a stroll down memory lane (he grew up in Olympia, WA). So we hopped into the car and hit the open road. We drove to some place in western OR of which I don't remember the name, found the restaurant that he would eat breakfast on Sunday mornings with his dad, and proceeded to quiz the restaurant owners about the area and such. It was a good time and we learned that the restaurant had burned down once before but they rebuilt it less than a year later. It was called Hump's. Breakfast was good, but not worth the price tag... We then headed up to Olympia to see where Matt grew up. Apparently the neighborhood he lived in has vastly grown up! Lacey, WA was about like the Flower Mound, TX area in that it looked brand new, had vast, chain shopping, and just about every restaurant you could want right there in one square.

We went to the church where Matt and Brenda first met, Lacey Baptist Church (they met at Brenda's brother's wedding to one of Matt's church group friends). Then we drove on to see the parents of Matt's best friend. We spent some time visiting and then headed up to Ben Moore's restaurant. Matt's oldest brother, Mike, owns this place. Matt's sister, Theresa, works there along with one of Matt's nieces, Hester. We shared a good meal and were able to reunite with several of Matt's nieces, nephews, and siblings. It was fun, but you know how at those meetings where you really don't know the people too well things are awkward for awhile, at least until people warm up (usually by the end of the meal!).

The next day we decided to go see Multnomah Falls. Jarred and Matt got to fixing something on the RV and it was almost 11am before we left. We couldn't just go to the Falls though. We needed to get fuel, go to Lowe's, go to Wal-Mart, etc, etc, etc. By the time we were through with that nonsense, we were starved. So instead of heading to the Falls we decided to go downtown to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We sure enjoyed that! Good food, great atmosphere, excellent company! A good time was had by all! Then we wandered around downtown. We were hoping for some quaint boutiques and little shops, however we were met with large office buildings and mainstream shopping. It wasn't until we found the Pearl District that we really found what we wanted. And then we saw it. Powell books. Phenomenal!!!! I fell in love with this place! I LOVE to read and this place could seriously satisfy me for months on end! We got in and wandered around for about an hour. Then we decided that we needed to go home and get some rest.

We ate dinner at the RV and cleaned up. Around 9pm we went to meet up with Matt's other sister, Felicia, and all her kids. It was pretty neat because she had 6 children and all 6 were able to show up! Lots of people in one small space was uncomfortable at first, but again, people tend to warm up as time goes on... Around 11pm we excused ourselves so that we could head to bed. And the next day I was pretty excited because I was going to get to show my in-loves our new church! We had a great time worshiping and praising the Lord on Sunday! It was great!

After church, we headed to the Oregon coast. It took FOREVER to drive out there, but once we arrived, we were pleased. We saw Seaside, OR where there are a bunch of cute little shops and cafes. It was great! We got into some candy store where they had every flavor of taffy imaginable! We at lunch at Dooger's and wandered around for a short while. Then we headed a couple of miles down the road to Cannon Beach to see sea otters. It wasn't the best weather (rainy and muddy!) but we trekked up there and were rewarded with beautiful views. No sea otters, but great view! Then we headed over to Astoria, OR. It wasn't much fun for me but I went along and tried to not be a downer.

I was EXHAUSTED! We tend to just GO GO GO when Matt and Brenda are visiting and that can seriously wear you out! If i had to approximate, we spent 2 out of the 4 days they were here, just driving in the car! But alas, the visit came to an end and we had to take my beloved in-loves back to the airport on Monday at 6am... A sad departing, I really miss them! You know, when you live just 2 doors down for a while, you get really used to it. Life tended to revolve around that home/compound and we had a great time. But I guess you have to go where you find work. Hopefully we'll be able to visit soon and see the rest of the family in PA...

Well, I suppose that'll do for now. Until next time!